Comments on: Poll Says Too Many Distroshttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/
Keeping tech freeTue, 23 Jan 2018 16:48:00 +0000hourly1By: Eddie G.http://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5440
Sat, 12 Oct 2013 05:02:33 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5440I dunno, I’m kind of torn between two opinions, in regards to the wine comparison, even if there were a list of 300+ wines, there has GOT to be some “responsibility” placed on the diner….surely he/she KNEW they’d be ordering WINE with dinner and not beer, or fruit juice, so then they should have a “concept” of what wines go good with what dishes, and instead of being swamped with an avalanche of choice they themselves can narrow it down by telling the waiter to bring them a small list of the “Reds”…or “Burgundys”…or “Pinot Grigios” etc. Granted to have to research EVERY distro out there WOULD be a bit of a task, but since most of them are similar you don’t REALLY have to go through ALL of them. Just read some of the release notes on a distro you might be considering, and if you see another one that’s similar?….read th9ose as well…you’d find a lot of the material similar, and the changes would stand out…then you can make a more informed decision. As for Fedora & Debian? I would replace Fedora with CEntOS or Scientific, since they’re plain-Jane, vanilla distros that will do whatever you need them to without much fuss. Ubuntu can stay…since its actually aiming at being a desktop OS for the masses, (and laptops and tablets too!) Debian was easy to install, but getting the wireless to work after installation? UGH!! I wouldn’t recommend that for a newbie….and although Fedora was easy to install and the wireless drivers worked,…because they’re aiming at forever being on the “cutting edge” of software and technology…sometimes the laptop / desktop you have might have something in its makeup that doesn’t agree with a certain driver or setting and it becomes a “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” treasure hunt to find the offending piece. And Mageia while it’s easy and flexible enough for a newbie, I feel that its not “mainstream” enough for a newbie to comfortably use it…but hey these are all just my personal observations, and someone else might have a different view…
]]>By: Ricardohttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5433
Fri, 11 Oct 2013 18:45:48 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5433The “hardest” part of Debian and Fedora, IMHO, is the installation.

If you give a new Linux user a box with Debian or Fedora already installed, I think they’ll get along just fine.

Nevetheless, I believe Ubuntu, Mint and Mageia might make it even easier for them.

If I expanded the list to five then Mint and Mageia would be next in line, I think.

Regarding my list of three: I would recommend those distros to any new Linux user, no matter what their level of technical skill may be.

I disagree that Fedora or Debian are bad choices. I always hear that Debian especially is difficult/scary for new users but I have never found that to be true. I’ve introduced new (non-technical) users to Debian without complaint.

Overall, I feel community size, age, and experience of a distro is more important than features when considering its use for new users.

]]>By: Christine Hallhttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5429
Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:42:31 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5429Hi Mike! Personally I’d take Fedora and Debian off the newbs list. In their place, I would put Mint on the list as well as Mageia. But that’s just me…
]]>By: Mikehttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5428
Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:25:07 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5428@Lizbeth

I really like the wine analogy.

Just like the diner choosing a wine, a new Linux user needn’t be concerned with the full spectrum of distros out there. The diner may get guidance from the waiter, and be spared some choice because of the restaurant’s limited selection. With Linux, it is not the sheer amount of choice that is the problem, but rather the lack of guidance.

In my opinion, for anyone using Linux for the first time there are only three distros worth considering: Fedora, Debian, and Ubuntu. Being among the largest, this has a direct impact on the amount of support likely to be available, as well as the likelihood any particular issue has already been seen and resolved by someone else.

All other distros, like exotic wines, are better left for later, when the user has some experience by which to compare. To argue that there are too many kinds of wine and that if we could only reduce the number then we’d get more beer drinkers to ‘convert’ is silly.

]]>By: Lizbethhttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5427
Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:20:25 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5427The problem isn’t with deciding who gets to chose the 30 or so potential distros it is a problem of economy of time and the burden of choice. Not every one wants to be or has the time available to them to become a back room computer geek just to be sure they have “the best” distro that suits their needs. The best distro is the one that works out of the box, that comes with all the software they need from the big box consumer store because we are taught to consume everything and to view everything from a point of view of consumption. That we have so many distros is reflective of the fact that people want their consumption seasoned to their tastes.

Consider the simple act of buying wine at diner. No one wants a dialectic on the the wineries of the world and the hundereds of different wines they could taste test before making their choice for diner. They want to eat their food while its hot and enjoy their wine and food over pleasant conversation and get on with their lives.

]]>By: Eddie G.http://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5352
Tue, 08 Oct 2013 04:56:10 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5352I wonder about the person who decides there IS no distro that suits their purpose, and so they decide to roll their own. Maybe not makie it public, but a close few friends use it to help with beta testing etc. Is this person being a big “baby”? maybe that same distro gains momentum and traction when a few people from church get ahold of it. and then before you know it you have people volunteering to keep the distro afloat even though the “original” creator only built it for his own use. I guess that’s “Evil Incarnate”?….LOL!
]]>By: Dietrich Schmutzhttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5348
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 20:23:02 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5348Less Distros, more Dietrichs!!!
]]>By: Mikehttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5346
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 17:24:10 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5346@John

“when a developer isn’t happy with any of the current distributions, they either take the high road and work with one that is close so that more users benifit, or they run off like a baby and create their own.”
You speak like there is some moral superiority to not creating your own distro. There is not. Sounds like you have control issues. Did you create a distro, only to see it abandoned when developers wouldn’t bend to your will? You ought to realize the problem isn’t with them…

“You are not very creative if you think there is no other option, and no way to improve communications and cooperation between developers besides dictating from the top down.”
I didn’t say that. I suggested that people would like to see more collaboration from the big distros and less duplication of efforts (it might even have the side effect of reducing the number of distros), but that is a far different thing than saying reducing the number of distros will lead to the former. That would require top down dictating and would not work.

“If having so many distros is great, then come up with 300 unique reasons of why each distro is justified.”
Just because you can’t think of a good reason doesn’t mean there isn’t one. If you want reasons, ask the individual maintainers. Who are you or I to question their reason to exist?

“People should have an option to create their own distro, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option.”
I’ve heard your arguments before, when people said the same things about forking an open source project. Then along came git and forking became easy. None of the bad things happened and life goes on. Creating a distro is the same, it neither weakens nor slows down existing distros. After all, it’s open source…a distro can take anything it likes from it’s siblings, right?

Anyone being able to create a distro at any time for any reason is a good thing. Perhaps what we really need is a system like git for building and forking entire distros…Hmm, interesting.

]]>By: Johnhttp://fossforce.com/2013/10/poll-says-many-distros/#comment-5339
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 12:42:39 +0000http://fossforce.com/?p=9781#comment-5339@Mike, when a developer isn’t happy with any of the current distributions, they either take the high road and work with one that is close so that more users benifit, or they run off like a baby and create their own. I am being a little extreme, but less so than comparing to one distro.

You are not very creative if you think there is no other option, and no way to improve communications and cooperation between developers besides dictating from the top down.

People should have an option to create their own distro, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option. Also, I am not counting private distros, such as one made by an enterprise for all it’s desktops or servers.

You have the idea backwars. It’s not to restrict the number of distros to foster greater collaboration, but to foster greater collaboration to restrict the number of distros. Having 10s of thousands of those do not dilute the quality of the others.

If having so many distros is great, then come up with 300 unique reasons of why each distro is justified. I can come up with about 50 if I skip the reason that people are too lazy to work together.